Hillphoenix, part of Dover Food Retail and Dover, and the leading provider of transcritical CO2 refrigeration in North America, announced on February 3 the addition of a transcritical CO2 (R744) condensing unit to its portfolio of CO2 products.
The new system – dubbed the CO2One single-condensing unit – is one of the first CO2 condensing units designed for complete food retail stores in North America. Previously, commercial CO2 condensing units in North America have been aimed at cold rooms in stores, but not display cabinets, which have been served by CO2 rack systems. By contrast, CO2 condensing units have been widely used for complete retail stores in Japan and to a growing degree in Europe for many years.
“The addition of the CO2One condensing unit to our product line underscores our commitment to delivering products that run on all-natural refrigerants and offering our customers more environmentally friendly alternatives for their businesses,” said Subodh Sharma, Director of Systems Product Management at Hillphoenix, in a statement.
The CO2One is available in two configurations: a single condensing unit and split system; the split system includes a condensing unit, controller and unit cooler (evaporator) for a walk-in cooler or freezer. Both configurations come with low- and medium-temperature options.
The new condensing unit is meant to “support future-focused businesses by running on natural refrigerants and providing a smaller footprint and refrigerant charge,” said Hillphoenix, adding that its design “works with smaller footprint stores, walk-in cooler/freezers, phased remodels as well as stores that use a distributed refrigeration architecture.”
Hillphoenix sees the CO2 condensing unit being used to support an additional case lineup or walk-in cooler/freezer, and as a direct replacement for HFC single-condensing units. In addition, CO2One can be located closer to loads, which means less piping and wiring in the field and reduced potential for leaks, the company noted.
Variable-speed compression
The CO2One single-condensing system uses variable-speed compression to match load demand, with an onboard controller to manage the high-side operation of the condensing unit. It is rated for outdoor installation.
Hillphoenix advises on its website that the CO2One should be used with Hillphoenix-supplied cases or unit coolers. These cases and unit coolers come equipped with 60bar (870.2psi)-rated evaporators, electronic expansion valves and the necessary controls for use with CO2. “Any customer supplied cases or units must, at a minimum, have the above features and capabilities,” the company said.
Hillphoenix’s other transcritical CO2 systems include the Advansor, AdvansorFlex and AdvansorFlex-Mini racks.
Last July, Hillphoenix reported having over 700 installations of transcritical CO2 systems (and more than 1,100 total CO2 installations, including transcritical, cascade and secondary), making it the leading provider of transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems in North America.
“The addition of the CO2One condensing unit to our product line underscores our commitment to delivering products that run on all-natural refrigerants.”
Subodh Sharma, Hillphoenix
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